Bitmain Seeking U.S. IPO With Confidential SEC Filing: Report

Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain is said to have confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sponsored by Deutsche Bank, the offering was filed with the SEC earlier this week before a recent management shakeup saw the ousting of Bitmain co-founder and executive director Micree Ketuan Zhan Oct. 29, according to Tencent News.

Bitmain will now undergo questioning by the U.S. securities regulator before – if allowed – submitting an F1, a certification required for foreign companies before listing in U.S. securities markets. It’s not clear how much capital the firm is looking to raise through the public offering.

Bitmain’s U.S. IPO dreams follow a failed attempt to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) in 2018. The mining giant’s application lapsed in March 2019 and was not re-filed. Bitmain declined to comment on the lapsed application at the time.

To increase the firm’s chance of a U.S. listing, Bitmain has also hired the former representative of Nasdaq China, Zheng Hua, as a consultant, Tencent News reports.

CoinDesk reached out to Bitmain to confirm the news, but a representative would not comment.

The effects of the leadership shakeup on the listing process have yet to be seen. As of the last listing attempt on the HKSE, departed executive Zhan held a 36 percent stake in Bitmain Holdings, the parent company of Beijing Bitmain Technology. Co-founder and now chairmen-of-the-board Jihan Wu owns 20 percent of the firm.

Bitmain’s U.S. IPO plans come alongside a notable investment in the region. Earlier this month, the company opened a new mining plant in Rockdale, Texas. Beginning at 25 megawatts for dedicated bitcoin mining, the converted aluminium smelter plant has the potential to scale up to 300 megawatts.

And just two days ago, miner manufacturing rival Canaan also filed for an IPO with the SEC. The offering prospectus indicates it intends to list on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “CAN” and sets a placeholder amount of $400 million for the raise.

Bitmain chairman Jihan Wu image via CoinDesk archives